Plucking Ducks: The Stanley Cup Final Pick
Thanks to the idiots who do the scheduling, some of you might have forgotten that the Ottawa Senators and Anaheim Ducks have unfinished business in this NHL season. It's been nearly a week since we've seen playoff hockey, which makes you wonder if they should just send everyone home for the summer and play the Stanley Cup Final in September, when training camps open. But no, the series finally begins on Monday night.
Once they take a couple of periods to get back in game shape, the teams should offer a close, speedy and occasionally dirty showdown. But from here, it looks like the Senators have an answer for everything the Ducks can throw at them.
Ottawa is top-heavy at forward, with almost all the goals coming from the Alfredsson-Spezza-Heatley line. But the supporting cast is faster and more defensively sound than any line on the Ducks. Lately, Anaheim has relied too much on young scorers like Corey Perry and Ryan Getzlaf, as Teemu Selanne and others are mostly invisible. Not a good sign.
On defense, Anaheim can throw Niedermayer and/or Pronger on the ice in any situation. But the Senators six-man unit has been every bit as effective. With its overall commitment to defense, Ottawa is the team less prone to breakdowns.
The one advantage for the Ducks appears to be in net. But is Jean-Sebastian Giguere that much better than Ray Emery? Any guy who allows three goals in the third period of a series-clicnhing game, as Giguere did against Detroit, can't be all that intimidating.
Senators in Six
Record so far: 13 out of 14 series winners picked, 5 in the correct number of games.
Comments
Ahhh, I’m hoping your prediction of the Sens in 6 comes true… but now it’s 2-0 for the series and things aren’t looking good *sigh* GO SENS!
Plucking Ducks??? These Senators are in more trouble than Ted Kennedy at a strip club with an open bar…..Fitzy your “prediction” can’t be more off, Giguere not much better than Emery??? who are you watchin? Emery couldn’t control a rebound if his life depended on it, Volchenkov makes more saves than him and as far as Giguere “letting” in 3 goals, when Detroit gets powerplay after powerplay including 5 on 3’s Detroits gonna score. Anaheim has been built around the toughnosed play of coach Carlyle and it shows against Ottawas pseudo out of character tough play, Ottawa just can’t compete. Ottawa is a good team but got to the cup by beating a young, at times scared looking Pittsburgh team, a low scoring Jesey team whose world class goalie had a horrible playoff, and a Buffalo team who lacked defensive grit and whose mind blowing scoring ability decided to take the playoffs off. I’m a Sabres fan and actually am glad Ottawa beat us that way we would not be led to hockey embarassement by the ducks of Anaheim, who by the way look very “mighty”